Accounts Receivable & Overdue Accounts SOP 2026

Providing treatment and not collecting payment is lending money to a patient — without a lending licence, without interest, and with limited legal recourse. Every unpaid account is a cost to the practice. And the number one cause of accounts receivable problems in dental practice is not patients who refuse to pay — it is practices that do not ask for payment at the time of service, that create accounts without a clear repayment agreement, or that allow accounts to go uncontacted for weeks.

The Accounts Receivable & Overdue Accounts SOP 2026 is the complete procedure for managing patient accounts, overdue balances, and debt recovery in an Australian dental practice — from account setup and payment at service through to a 5-stage overdue escalation process, formal overdue letter template, and monthly aged receivables review.

Part 1 — The Principle: Payment at the Time of Service Five clear policy principles that every FOC and PM must understand: payment at time of service is the default (not the exception), accounts are an exception requiring PM approval, account terms must be agreed in writing, accounts are reviewed weekly, and escalation begins within 7 days of a missed payment — not 30.

Part 2 — Account Setup Procedure When an account is appropriate — and when it is not. Long-standing patients with an excellent payment history facing genuine difficulty, large multi-appointment treatment plans, DVA direct billing, and CDBS bulk-billing gaps are appropriate. New patients with no payment history, patients with a previous overdue account, and patients who arrive without a payment method are not.

A 5-step account setup procedure covering PM approval, the Patient Account Agreement (total owing, payment schedule with specific dates and amounts, bank details, non-payment consequences, and patient signature), PMS entry with payment dates flagged, 3-day payment reminders, and payment confirmation on each due date.

Part 3 — Overdue Account Escalation A structured 5-stage escalation process that must be followed systematically for every overdue account, every time:

Includes the complete Stage 1 reminder call script and the full Stage 3 formal overdue letter template — ready to customise with your practice name, ABN, and bank details.

Closes with the monthly aged receivables review framework — 0–30 days, 31–60 days, 61–90 days, and over 90 days — with clear guidance on what stage each bracket should be at and a non-negotiable rule: any account still outstanding at 90 days that has not been referred is a process failure.

📄 Format: 5-page editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) — fully customisable with your practice name, responsible person, bank details, and debt recovery agency details

⬇️ Instant digital download — available immediately after purchase

🦷 Built for Australian dental practices